People have always been the backbone of the American economy. Yet as technology and machines — unencumbered by pesky mortal frailty and human agency — become more advanced, many are asking: what will happen to us? How will people flourish in the next decade and beyond?

Throughout every period of major technological change, America has responded with investment in its human talent. These investments helped make our country a leader on the global stage. But anything similar has yet to materialize for this current wave of change. Anxiety, rather than optimism, is the tenor of our time.

It’s time to turn the corner. It’s time to remember that the arc of history bends upward when America invests in its people.

To frame what the next wave of investment might look like, the Stanford Center on Longevity (SCL) convened thought leaders in October 2024 for a year-long dialogue. Doers and thinkers from higher education, the workforce system, K12 education, philanthropy, edtech, healthcare, organized labor, and venture capital assembled multiple times to discuss, debate, and ultimately produce a vision for human-capital investment in the United States in the current decade. 

In this latest publication we call for building a learning society that distributes opportunity more broadly across time, place, and people; recognizes, measures, and rewards learning wherever it happens; and shares the cost of learning investments among all who benefit.